Advanced Computing in the Age of AI | Friday, March 29, 2024

Will the United States Lose its Science and Technology Leadership Role to the “Asia 10”? 

<img style="float: left;" src="http://media2.hpcwire.com/dmr/800px-Boeing_787_Section_41_final_assembly.jpg" alt="" width="77" height="51" />The U.S. position as the global leader for science and technology (S&T) may soon become a thing of the past, according to a report issued by National Sciences Board (NSB) on Jan. 17.

The U.S. position as the global leader for science and technology (S&T) may soon become a thing of the past, according to a report issued by National Sciences Board (NSB) on Jan. 17.

 NSM is the policymaking body for the National Science Foundation (NSF).

 America’s slim margin as the top country worldwide supporting S&T research and development could soon be eclipsed by a rapid ramp up in Asian investments in knowledge-intensive economies.

Says NSF Director Subra Suresh of the finding in the report, Science and Engineering Indicators 2012,  "This information clearly shows we must re-examine long-held assumptions about the global dominance of the American science and technology enterprise. And we must take seriously new strategies for education, workforce development and innovation in order for the United States to retain its international leadership position."

 The largest global S&T gains were made by the “Asia 10” – China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand. 

For the U.S., losing its leadership role also means the loss of manufacturing jobs to these fast growing Asian companies. 

You can read the NSB press release and find related links here.

Another Viewpoint

Of course, not everyone agrees with the NSB findings.  For example, Vivek Wadha, visiting scholar in the School of Information, UC Berkley, blogs that China may be in for a rude reversal. 

 Comments Wadha, “America has been extremely worried about the loss of manufacturing to China. Seduced by subsidies, cheap labor, lax regulations, and a rigged currency, American industry has made a beeline to China.

 “But the tide may soon turn.

 “New technologies will likely cause the same hollowing out of China’s manufacturing industry over the next two decades that the U.S experienced over the past twenty years. That’s right. America is destined to once again gain its supremacy in manufacturing, and it will soon be China’s turn to worry.”

 Read the full blog here

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